Day 2: Early morning greets you with hot air balloons in the sky. For those of us with shallower wallets, a walk amongst the vines as fat rabbits scamper past would have to suffice. Then a light breakfast (alright we pigged out at the buffet breakfast) before making our way to a dairy farm.
Morning. The Yarra Valley Dairy. Their claim to fame is their incredible Persian Feta. My God this cheese is good, packaged with peppercorns and bay-leaves, it is a worthy addition to anything- salads, sprinkled on roast meats, melted on pizzas or even licked from your fingers.
They also have other lovely cheeses here like chevre and fresh goat's pyramid some packed in ash to preserve flavour. If you are not too much into cheese, their store is still worth a gander at with fabulous chopping boards and other edible gifts.
Just look at their fabulous store!
Lunch: De Bertoli Another lovely vineyard, family run with an airy restaurant. It's like being in a sitting room, with pictures of the De Bertoli family on the wall. In fact, we even managed to have a chat with Leanne De Bertoli, who manages the estate started by her grandparents.
The food here is locally sourced and there's something new everyday. We had a fresh kingfish carpaccio with olive oil and verjuice, then some grilled lamb. However my favourite was their homemade fresh buttery cheese slathered over bread. I seemed unable to get enough of the cheese here.
"There's history and strong family ties in these vineyards..."
Quick Stop: Mandala Estate.
Before heading back to Melbourne stop for a while at Mandala. This is a new vineyard, having been in operation for about 3 years. Over here, their philosophy is all about balance- family, friends, wine and food. In fact, when we visited, there was an exuberant family day going on complete with Brazilian barbecue and a bouncy castle. The menu uses Australian ingredients with Italian and French influences.
Everything here is as sustainable as they can make it. They use recycled steel, the floor is made out of truck tyres, the wood is from a sustainable source and they treat most of their waste on site. As we drank in the afternoon sun, we had some delicious creme caramel... in biodegradable plastic cups of course.
I suppose two days is hardly enough and yet long enough to fall a little bit in love with this sun drenched valley. Knowing that my friends in Melbourne can just traipse here any weekend they feel like it makes me a tad jealous. Lucky sods...
Coming soon... some tasty things I made with Yarra Valley products.
Yarra Valley Food Crawl: Part 1
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